An important design consideration for systems level designers in such areas as industrial power products, automotive power products, electric vehicles, power supplies, etc. is the removal of heat dissipated by the systems' electronic components. Generally, these components consume large amounts of power and generate large amounts of heat. Therefore, they are commonly referred to as power devices. If the heat generated by these devices is not removed, their junction temperatures will exceed a critical level, resulting in damage or destruction of the electronic components, the system, or both. A commonly used approach for removing heat from electronic components is to attach a heat sink to them, which facilitates heat transfer away from the electronic components. Heat sinks may be either air cooled or liquid cooled, wherein heat is transferred, via conduction, from the electronic components to a surface in contact with the air or liquid. Subsequently, the air or liquid carries the heat away from the electronic components by means of convection.
Another important design consideration is the size of the electrical system. Generally, it is desirable for electrical systems to be small and light-weight because of space and weight limitations. However, electrical systems comprising power devices are typically constrained by the ability of the electrical system to dissipate heat generated by the power devices. More particularly, power devices require large heat sinks to ensure sufficient removal of heat to maintain power device junction temperatures within a safe operating range. Thus, electrical systems having power devices often include large, heavy, structures for removing heat, i.e., large heat sinks. These large heat sinks increase the size and weight of the electrical systems.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have an electronic module for removing heat from semiconductor die. It would be of further advantage for the electronic module to be capable of reducing electrical system size, while maintaining junction temperatures within their safe operating range.